MIRACLE MILE

The world of film is changing. For one thing, there’s not much actual film anymore. The future is digital; more and more, it’s streaming on our computers, too. Every week in Watch This Now, we survey the landscape of online movies to bring you a snapshot of what’s available. This week, the end is nigh — whatever nigh means — as we watch some end-of-the-world movies.

The world is coming to an end. Not in a vague, one-of-the-days sort of way; this is definitive and precise and all too soon. What do you do? The possibility of the end of the world looms over many science-fiction films; the aftermath of the end of the world is the focus of even more. But a smaller and more thoughtful subset approach the apocalypse from this unusual angle. The only race against time in movies like these has nothing to do with blowing up asteroids or defusing a doomsday bomb; it’s just that all too familiar urge to do all the things you’ve ever wanted to do before it’s all over. So what would you do if the end was coming? Personally, I’d make some reservations at Per Se before they all get snatched up.